A World Without You
by Jonesz
Summary: Sarah has worked her entire life to become a singer, What happens when she finds out that she has powers that she can not control?, how will her powers help others? eventually this will be SSOC
1. Whats Going On?

A/N : All the Harry Potter characters belong to J.K. Rowling, No profit is being made from this fic.

Chapter 1 : What's going on.

Sarah had been waiting for this moment since she was little. Every breathing moment since she was 5 was spent singing. Her mother would take her to see all the musicals and operas that came into London and after each performance would tell her 'if you keep practicing you could sing just like her when your older', now at the age of 24 she stood in a long line waiting to audition for the part of Fantine in the famous musical, Les Miserables.

Her mother at the age of 52 became severely sick and was soon afterward was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia, she under went chemotherapy, but at the age of 55 passed away in her sleep. This drove Sarah to work even harder to become a singer.

"number 259" the intercom announced.

"This is it" she thought as she was lead to the stage. She handed her music to the lady at the piano and stood center stage. The lights were dimmed, she could see the judges and the director sitting in two rows.

"Miss-"he leafed through the papers "McCanister, are you ready?"

"Yes sir" she said confidently

"When ever your ready."

"Thank you." she nodded to the piano player who began the song.

"There was a time, when men were kind  
And their voices were soft  
And their words were inviting  
There was a time, when love was blind  
And the world was a song And the song was exciting  
There was a time it all went wrong" Sarah's voice was sweet and calming as she reached each note

"I dreamed a dream in time gone by  
When hope was high and life worth living  
I dreamed that love would never die  
I dreamed that God would be forgiving"

"Ok, thank you. That will be enough" The Director interupted

Sarah stood by waiting for the judges to finish writing.

"Thank you, for coming, We'll call you if you make the cuts."

"Thank you sir." She said as she left the stage. If she didn't make the cut she knew she had tried her best.

Outside the streets it was a foggy mess, she walked the abandoned streets with her head down until a shadow stood in front of her, she looked up to see two burly men.

"Where you going in such a hurry?" one asked

"I-I was just go-going home." she said shaking

"Oh I don't thing so." They grabbed her by the arms and drug her into a nearby ally

Sarah was kicking and screaming until they gagged and bound her. They dragged her to the back of the alley and proceeded to remove her jacket.

"This can't be happening" she screamed mentally. One of the men's hands traveled up her shirt. "No, not happening, I'm at home drinking tea, and this isn't happening" she thought. The other mans hands moved to her pants and started to unbutton them. She closed her eyes, "No! Not happening," She thought harder about her home, the way the furniture was arranged, where everything she needed was. Then it stopped, it wasn't raining, she felt the carpet on her face, the men weren't touching her. Sarah opened her eyes, a look of shock crossed her face as she found herself on her living room floor. What happened next she was not expecting, A man with a scroll appeared out of then air in her living room, he wore a gray cloak and had a wooden stick in his hand.

"By order of Amelia Bones head of the department of Magical Law Enforcement, you are summoned to the Ministry of Magic."

"What's going on?" Sarah asked the man "Magic, there's no such thing."

"Oh, you didn't know that you're a witch?" he asked

Sarah's mouth hung open "A-a witch?" then it went dark.

A/N: The song Sarah sings is called I Dreamed A Dream from Les Miserables.

I had a dream about this last night so I woke this morning and started it, don't worry I wont stop my other story I just need to get some of these other ideas out of my head.

Please review and tell me how you like.

L. Jones


	2. The Hunt

A/N: All the Harry Potter characters belong to J.K. Rowling, No profit is being made from this fic.

* * *

Chapter 2: The Hunt

* * *

Sarah woke up to a warm sensation crossing her cheek. She instantly noticed a most horrifying smell and opened her eyes slowly to see what had happened. Her vision was blurred, but she could make out sharp, white fangs and black nose that seemed only inches away.

"Woof!"

Sarah moaned as her ears rang from the onslaught of noise. "Ah, Bruse! No, get off," she yelped as the giant Doberman pincher dragged his tongue across her face. The clock on the mantel chimed 2 AM and Sarah sighed.

"What a great way to start the day," she thought sarcastically as she wiped her face with the back of her hand then picked herself off the floor and headed, a bit unsteadily, to the bathroom. She took a quick shower and moved to the sink to brush her teeth. Mid-stroke, she looked up into the mirror and groaned, because her black, kinky hair was in disarray around her face and shoulders, her gray eyes had bags under them and, above all, she had an imprint of where her face had been on the carpet. She hoped that it would be gone by the time she woke up and headed straight to bed.

Sarah woke to the phone ringing. She felt that she just laid down, but the sun streaming in through the curtains was evidence that it was far from 2 in the morning and more like 2 in the afternoon. Sarah shut her eyes tightly as she reached for the phone.

"Hello?" she drowsily answered.

"Yes, may I speak to a Miss Sarah McCanster?"

"This is she," Sarah replied automatically.

"I was just calling to tell you that you made the first cut in your audition for Fantine and that the next audition will be tomorrow at 3. The Director wants all the call-backs to sing "Come to Me," which you and the others will be singing with Ivan Rutherford, who will be playing Jean Valjean."

"Oh, really? Wow! Ok, thank you very much."

After Sarah hung up, the realization sunk in as she thought, "I made the first cut! I made the first cut!" Sarah danced around the room yelling, "I can't believe this!" Then Sarah stopped and realized that she needed to practice.

She ran to her piano that sat in the corner of her living room and shuffled through the music until she found the required piece. She played at the piano for a bit until she looked at the clock and noticed it was 11. Sarah shut the piano and left to go shower and head to work – completely oblivious to the two cloaked figures outside staring into her window.

* * *

The next morning, Sarah woke up refreshed and ready for her audition. She left early so she could have plenty of time to warm up. When Sarah arrived at the Royal Opera House, she was given a number, and, surprisingly, there were only about 20 other women there for the audition. Each girl, one by one, went in for their audition until it was just Sarah left.

Finally, her number was called and she was guided in, as before, to the stage. Ivan Rutherford was waiting for her and Sarah went up to him and shook his hand. The Director then told her she could begin when she was ready.

Sarah took a deep breath and nodded to the pianist. The music started and she began her song:

"Cosette, it's turned so cold. Cosette, it's past your bedtime. You've played the day away and soon it will be night." Her voice filled the opera house she continued until Ivan took his turn. His voice was deep and rich it caused the hair on the back of her neck to rise.

"Oh, Fantine, our time is running out, But Fantine, I swear this on my life," he sang.

"Look, M'sieur, where all the children play."

"Be at peace, be at peace evermore-"

When they finished the song, Sarah complemented Ivan's singing and looked to the judges.

"Thank you for coming, but, unfortunately," the director sighed, "your voice isn't what were looking for in the character. Fantine is a broken woman and we need something that will portray her sorrow. Your voice is just too..youthful and sweet. Don't stop singing, though! I'm sure that if you keep practicing, you could someday get a lead role, but you may want to start off with some smaller parts to get some experience."

"Oh, I understand. Thank you for at least giving me a chance," she told them with a smile, but, inside, she was hurt because she had worked so hard, and then to have them tell her that her voice was too 'sweet and youthful' was a hurtful blow, but she wouldn't let this stop her from her dream.

Outside of the opera house, Sarah hailed a cab instead of her usual walk home. On the way, she thought about what happened only a couple days earlier. How had she gotten home when she was in an alley minutes before? It just didn't make since.

The cab driver brought her back from her thoughts. "Hey, lady, is this it?" he asked.

"Yes, sorry, I was just lost in thought," she answered as she paid the man and went inside. It was only about 8 o'clock, but Sarah felt tired and decided to reward herself with a nice, hot bath. Sarah closed her eyes and soon drifted to sleep in the tub.

When she awoke, the water had turned so cold that it made her shiver. She stepped out and put on her nightgown. As she was crawling into bed, she heard Bruse bark and then something break. Her heart was racing and she ran over to the bedroom door and peered through the crack. Two men wearing long, black cloaks and silver masks made their way to her library and opened the door. Bruse ran to her room and scurried under the bed. "Gee, lot of help you are," she thought.

"She's not in here," one suddenly whispered.

This made Sarah jump into action. She ran over to her window and slowly opened it, but the windowpane made a shrill screech, and she heard hurried footsteps headed toward her door as she crawled out the window.

"Stop her!" one yelled as the other stuck his head out the window. Suddenly, a red stream of light grazed the back of her leg. The searing pain that shot through her leg brought her to the ground. She quickly thought what happened in the ally, and she thought maybe by thinking of being somewhere else, whatever happened last time would happen again.

Sarah thought of a meadow filled with heather that her parents had taken her to after she had seen Brigadoon, and the purple-pink blooms tickling her nose as she bent to smell there sweet aroma. As the two men grew closer, she thought even harder of the scene, but nothing happened. One man bent down and grabbed her around the wrist.

With a pop, all three of them vanished.

* * *

Sarah blinked as a circle of cloaked figures came into her view. One caught her attention because he wore no mask. His face was snake-like and his eyes were as red as blood. As he spoke, his voice was dark and venomous and it sent chills down her body.

"So, this is the girl?" the unmasked man asked.

One of the cloaked figures stepped forward. "Yes, my lord," he answered. It had been one of the men at her house that answered.

"Very good, Lucius," he hissed. "Let's see what type of power she holds." His red eyes pierced into her blue ones, and she tried to look away but something drew her attention. "She thinks she's a Muggle!" he told the others, sounding greatly amused.

"Mu-muggle?" she asked stuttering.

He smiled evilly. "None magical, my dear," he told her sweetly.

"I-I don't know what you're talking about."

"Shut up, Mudblood!" the man called Lucius snapped.

"Now, Lucius, is that any way to treat our _guest_?" he asked.

"Forgive me, my lord," Lucius apologized as he bowed at his master's feet and kissed the hem of his robes.

"Yes, well, let this be a reminder," the one called Master and Lord pulled stick from his robes and pointed it to Lucius' back. "Crucio!" he hissed.

Lucius convulsed on the ground and an ear-piercing scream wrenched from his throat.

Master put down his stick and tucked it back into his robes. When he saw the question in Sarah's eyes, he simply stated, "It's a _wand_," before addressing the group.

"Now, I believe we shall have a little fun with our guest," he announced, placing a finger under her chin. "A little cat and mouse, I think," he said with what looked like a smile across his lips. "The object of the game is, when I let you go, you will get a 20 second head start to run off and then they-" he said, pointing to the other figures in black robes, "will hunt you down."

Sarah could hear the small snickers the men behind her were making and her eyes filled with fear. "Release her," Master told a man who was standing nearby. The man had an iron hand that came to her side and released the binds. "You had better get going, sweetie," Master whispered as the iron-hand man began to count.

Sarah scrambled to her feet and took off in the woods. Without the aid of shoes, rocks and twigs cut the bottoms of her feet as she ran and made her unable to control her balance.

* * *

Severus Snape detested wasting his time on the petty games the Dark Lord insisted on playing. He had better things to do then be a pawn in his game, such as grading the things those dunderheads called papers.

As he approached, all the Death Eaters had formed a circle around the Dark Lord. Then, two pops were heard - one being Rodolphus Lestrange and the other being Lucius with a woman in a nightdress.

"Let's see what type of power she holds," Voldemort said as he moved closer to her.

"What could _she_ possibly offer?" Snape thought bitterly to himself.

"She thinks she's a Muggle!" he heard Voldemort announce with surprised enthusiasm.

"Why would the Dark Lord bring someone like that here? What is so important about this one?" Snape thought.

Snape rarely participated in the "hunts", but, when he found out that the Muggle was a witch, he thought he might be able to get to her first and find out what's so important about her.

"-18, 19, 20!"

"Enjoy the hunt, my faithful followers," Voldemort announced and the group left immediately.

As the Death Eaters started to enter the forest, Snape decided to apparate to the other side and have a better chance of getting to her first. On the outskirts of the forest, Snape could hear the snapping of twigs and the crunch of leaves heading toward him. Her stark white night gown made her an easy target as he approached the running figure.

* * *

Sarah had been running the entire time, not even stopping to catch her breath. She continually glanced behind her to see if she was being followed, but, so far, there was no sign of anyone.

As she turned to face forward, she ran into a warm, black wall. She fell to the ground and scooted away from the robed figure. His eyes bared down on her and she felt a sudden chill come over her.

"Who are you?" he demanded in a whisper.

Sarah was too scared to answer.

"Look, I can't help you if I don't know who you are!" he snapped.

"S-Sarah," she stuttered, "McCanster."

"Who are your parents?" he asked, looking around them.

"J-John and Margaret," Sarah answered. She felt like she was being drawn into the man's gaze as his dark eyes seemed to burn into hers. "No," her brain told her, "don't look, look away!"

* * *

So far, Snape found her to be like every supposed 'witch or wizard thinking they're a Muggle' he had meet, except the fact that she couldn't control her magical abilities. Suddenly, a loud snap made quickly cast a color changing charm and Sarah's white nightgown turned black.

"Hide behind those bushes!" he pointed. "And keep quite or were both dead."

"Severus?" Lucius called. "Is that you?"

"Yes, Lucius," he drawled. "What is it?"

"Have you seen the girl?" Lucius asked. "The others are becoming reckless."

"No, I thought I could cut her off by coming here, but she must have gone in a different direction," he lied.

"Well, she could not have gotten far," he said as he turned to leave. "Oh, and Severus," he started, "it's good to see you active again." Lucius smiled approvingly and left.

After he was out of earshot, Snape turned to Sarah and whispered, "You can come out."

"What do they want with me?" she asked as she attempted to clean her bleeding feet off.

"I don't know yet," he told her. "Look, you have to leave and get as far away as possible. Just keep running."

Sarah nodded and quickly took off into the darkness. After a while of "looking", Snape returned to the other Death Eaters to tell them he found no sign of her, and then return to Hogwarts just as the sun was rising.

* * *

A/N:

Hey everyone, I'm glad those of you who have read the story and left reviews like the story and I hope to get another chapter up soon. I want to thank my Beta Kim who is the bestest is the world. And my reviewers.

HPFan : thanks for the review I hope to keep you interested.

Fury's Grace : I'm glad you liked it. At first I thought it was a bad idea to write this. But since I'm getting some good reviews, I think I'll keep going.

Valero : Yes she did apparate. I hope this is to your liking.

Myself : (note: this is not me lol) sorry about I was working on my other fic Remember When and I was swapping back and forth. Thanks for pointing that out.


	3. The Manor

A/N : All the Harry Potter characters belong to J.K. Rowling, No profit is being made from this fic.

* * *

Chapter 3: The Manor

* * *

Sarah ran as fast as her bloodied feet would carry her. Her chest ached, and the cold air was biting at her face. She grew tired with every step until she collapsed to the ground. She wasn't sure how long she had been running or when she would see civilization, but she knew she had to keep going. 

Her legs ached as she stood, and her nightgown was tattered and torn from where she got it snagged on low tree branches, and the thin fabric helped very little to keep her warm. She walked for what seemed to be hours. She constantly looked over her shoulder thinking that those men could be behind her.

Sarah was shaking because of the cold when she saw a manor in the distance. Looking around, she saw nothing other than trees, a dirt road, and vacant hills.

"Well, it's worth a try," Sarah thought as she made her way down the road and turned down the lane that led to the manor. As she approached, she felt a strange feeling come over her – almost like there was an energy field around her. She lifted the heavy knocker and waited. No one answered. She knocked again and this time, when no one answered, she opened the door.

"Hello?" she called as she stepped into the manor. "Is anyone home? I don't mean to intrude, but.."

A small pop sounded behind her and Sarah whirled around to see a small creature hiding in the shadows.

"Hello?" she asked squinting to see what 'it' was.

"Hello," it answered. "Can Suddy help you?"

"I'm sorry for just barging in like this, but I was wondering if I you might be able to spare a room for the night? All I have is this nightgown and it's dreadfully cold out tonight.."

"Suddy doesn't know if Master would like stranger to stay in his home when he not here," Suddy told her.

"Oh, please! I won't be much trouble, and I can pay!" she begged.

"You follow Suddy," the creature ordered after pausing a moment to decide.

The creature snapped his fingers and suddenly the room was flooded with light. Sarah gasped as she could finally see the tiny creature. It looked like, like, an elf! The elf didn't turn around as they climbed a set of stairs up to the next floor and continued down a long corridor. The elf began to mutter under his breath and Sarah walked closer to hear him.

"No, not this room, Master would be furious.._Definitely_ not this one.."

Finally they stopped at one of the many doors, and Suddy opened it and walked in with Sarah following close behind. The room had light gray walls with gray tile and a large canopy bed in the center with dark green curtains and bedding.

"This where you stay," the elf told her, "and don't go wondering 'round, Master will be most displeased if he found out." Suddy's frowning face then shifted into a pleasant and smiling one. "Is there anything you be needing?" he asked kindly.

"Who is your master?" she asked politely.

"House elves have many masters," he told her matter-of-factly.

Sarah nodded her head and sighed, "Well, if it wouldn't be that much trouble, I could use a new, and possibly warmer, nightgown."

The elf looked at her and then at her feet, pointed at them, and then looked at the prints on the tile. "Yours feet! They all bloodied, and they leave floor messy," the elf told her.

"Oh, my! I'm terribly sorry. I'll clean that up right away," Sarah told the elf reassuringly, but, before she could move, the elf snapped his fingers the blood on the tile was cleaned and a new nightgown lie on the bed. "If yous needing anything else, you just call for Suddy." With a pop, the elf was gone.

Sarah looked around the room. There was only one other door, which Sarah assumed was a bathroom. She was sore all over and needed a bath to wash the dirt and blood off. The bathroom had a snake motif: the walls were green with gray stone tile, the sink faucet was a silver snake bent over with its mouth open, and the taps were snake tales bent to the side. A large Jacuzzi bath was in the center of the room with taps just like the sink. She turned the taps and stripped herself of her tattered nightgown.

Sarah stepped into the bath and laid back. Her muscles relaxed and she closed her eyes as she let her body soak. About 20 minutes later, Sarah was in her new nightgown and was drowsily crawling into the bed.

* * *

Severus arrived at Hogwarts just as the sun was rising over Hagrid's hut. He walked briskly through the quite halls of the school. Upon reaching the Headmaster's office, he glared at the gargoyle. 

"Tootsie rolls," he growled and then stepped on the steps as the gargoyle rotated upward.

"Ah, Severus!" the old man greeted him. "Please have a seat. Lemon drop?" he asked as he offered a bowl to Severus.

"No thank you, Headmaster," he told him curtly while taking a seat in front of the desk.

"Now, I believe you wish to tell me about last nights events?" Dumbledore asked.

"Headmaster, last night there was a Muggle, but she wasn't a Muggle, or she thought she was but..I don't know, there is something I'm missing out of this whole thing. The Dark Lord seemed to know something about her, that she didn't even know."

"What happened to her?" Albus asked.

"I helped her escape. I don't know where she went from there," Severus told him.

"Severus, I think you should go home for the weekend, away from the castle to sooth your mind."

"But, Headmaster-" Snape argued.

"No arguments. I want you to go home and rest."

"Yes, Headmaster."

* * *

Hi Everyone!, 

Well I just sent off The End of this story to my beta…but don't worry I'm not through yet. Maybe in 10 to 12 chapters. I'm not sure.

**Feed the writer…please review.**

Stay tuned for the next chapter in A World Without You! … On to Snape Manor!!

L. Jones


	4. Home Sweet Home

A/N: All the Harry Potter characters belong to J.K. Rowling. No profit is being made from this fic.

For those of you who are still reading the story, I am terribly sorry it has taken me so long to update, almost 6 months…wow. Anyway, thanks for all the reviews. I hope to have another chapter up sooner.

* * *

Chapter 4: Home Sweet Home

* * *

Severus apparated just outside the large gates of his ancestral home as the sun was rising over the rolling foothills. Even in the daytime, Snape Manor was dark and brooding with vines that scaled up the great structure and large, shaded windows that allowed a vast view from anywhere in the house. After his father's death 15 years ago, Snape had inherited everything – including the villa in Spain and the small cottage in the south of France.

His father Aurelius Snape had been in his late 30s when he married Severus's mother Julia Kellaway – who was only 18 at the time. Aurelius was a foul man with cold blue eyes and long straight, black hair with a low and menacing voice. Julia was a kind, spirited woman with wavy, waist-length blonde hair and intense black eyes, but her eyes would never shine the same way again. Aurelius wanted nothing more than to have an heir to carry the family name. When he found out his wife was pregnant, he was ecstatic and overjoyed. He was most certain he would have a son to carry on the family name.

Two months into the pregnancy, Julia suffered a miscarriage. She was heartbroken and grieved for her unborn child, but Aurelius insisted they try again and forget the unborn child. Six months later, Julia became pregnant again, but, just as before, she suffered a second miscarriage.

Almost five years into their marriage, they were unsuccessful in having a child. Aurelius was becoming enraged with his young wife and her inability to bear him an heir. Some nights he would find himself contemplating ways to kill her and finding another woman to marry and carry his child.

Two weeks after their five-year anniversary, Julia told Aurelius she was pregnant again, but neither one were holding many hopes of a good outcome. Julia told herself that this was the last time, because she couldn't put herself through the loss of another child. Aurelius didn't know it, but she was becoming deeply depressed and often had thoughts of suicide for being unable to please her husband.

However, this time the pregnancy took and they found out they would have a baby boy. On January 9, 1960, eight months into Julia's pregnancy, Severus Alexander Snape was born. Due to some complications, Julia learned she would never be able to carry another child, but she figured it was just as well since her husband was now happy and hoped for their marriage to strengthen as a result.

On Severus' 11th birthday, to Julia's surprise and dismay after all the years of laughter and joy, Aurelius decided he wanted another child. Julia had unfortunately never told her husband of the complications and her inability to have another child, because she saw it as unnecessary. After a month or so of trying with nothing to show for it, Julia broke down one night and revealed to her husband what the doctor had told her over a decade ago.

Aurelius was so infuriated that he began slapping her right in front of Severus. When the young boy tried to hold his father back, Aurelius struck him down. Severus fell to the floor clutching his bleeding nose as Julia ran to comfort him, and Aurelius went to his study for a drink. Julia told her husband later that evening that Severus's nose had been broken and he needed Skele-Gro. Aureleius told his wife that if Severus wanted to become a man, he needed to take things like a man, so Severus was sent to his room with a shabby healing spell applied to his nose.

One night while Severus was home for Christmas holiday during his 7th year at Hogwarts, Aurelius was in a drunken rage and attacked Julia. Severus watched helplessly from behind one of the columns as she ran for the stairs and reached the second floor banister before Aurelius closed in from behind. Even though Severus was advanced in the Dark Arts – thanks to his father's teachings – he knew he was no match for his father. Julia was trapped, so she tried to pull her wand on her husband in self-defense, but she was too slow. Aurelius summoned her wand and, with one hand, snapped her wand in two. He stared at his wife's eyes, shining with fresh tears.

"Do you love me?" he asked.

"Yes, I would do anything for you," she whispered, hoping he would back off. Aurelius smiled cruelly at his wife.

"Would you die for me?" he asked, his voice low and undeniable as he stroked his fingers across her cheek. Julia looked into her husband's cold and unforgiving eyes as she knew what was about to happen.

"Aurelius, I've been dying for you a little everyday since we exchanged our wedding vows," she replied, her voice void of any emotions.

Infuriated, Aurelius raised his own wand to Julia's throat and cast a Weakening spell. Her petite body fell limply against the banister as her hands tried to grasp it for support.

"This shouldn't have been a shock then," Aurelius said acidly, stepping closer to her. He then smiled cruelly down at her before pushing her body over the banister – landing with a sickening thud below. Aurelius threw back his head and laughed before heading back to his study for a fresh drink.

Severus shook his head, warding off the images that floated to the surface of his mind.

"Dippy!" Severus roared as he entered the manor. "Suddy!"

A quiet pop sounded in the room. "Masters home!" Suddy said, jumping franticly from one foot to the other. "Suddy wasn't expectin' master to return till Chritmas!"

Severus shrugged off his outer robes, letting them fall into the elf's waiting hands, and then entered the parlor where he walked purposely to a waiting bottle of aged Cognac.

"M-m-master?" Suddy stuttered nervously.

Severus threw back the contents of his glass and topped off the glass again. "Yes, Suddy?" he asked, raising the glass to his lips.

"A young lady came by today, an-"

"Suddy, you didn't buy anything did you! I don't know how many times I have told you we don't need a-a what do they call them? A vacuum!" Severus bellowed, his temper soaring out of control at a rapid pace.

"She not selling anything!" the house elf replied quickly. "Suddy not buy Muggle sucking machine in weeks!"

"What did she want then?" Severus fumed.

"She wanted to sleep-"

"Sleep! Suddy, your next words better not be that she's asleep in my quarters, or it will be clothes for you!"

"Clothes!" the elf screeched. "No master! Not clothes!" The elf fell to the floor and began banging its head relentlessly on the tile floor. Suddy looked up at his master with tears streaming down his wrinkled face. "Suddy good house elf. Suddy not put her in your quarters. Suddy put her in spare room."

Severus's eyes blazed. He had never thought of striking a House Elf until this moment. His temples began to throb as he stared down at the tiny creature cowering before him. "Suddy," Severus said, taking a deep breath, "I suggest you get out of my sight."

The house elf quickly stood, bowed to his master, and ran like a madman for the kitchen.

Severus finished his last glass of Cognac before beginning his search for the girl. He climbed the stairs two at a time and threw open each door he came to.

Severus came to the last door on the hall, he put on his best sneer and threw open the door. The sight before him caused him to jump back slightly, but he quickly regained himself as he set his scowl back in place and glared at the girl staring straight at him with clouded eyes.

* * *

Sarah was awakened by the harsh light of the sun streaming through her window and the growing warmth on her face. She roughly threw a pillow over her face to block the sun and burrowed deeply into a soft, silk sheet.

"Wait a moment," she thought suddenly, "I don't have silk sheets!" Sarah shot up in bed and looked around the unfamiliar room. Everything came rushing back into her mind as she scrambled to her feet and made a dash for the door. Her hand clasped the doorknob, but she was suddenly stuck in place – unable to move and everything around her began to swirl. Sarah felt light headed, the door handle began to turn, and she moved back quickly. It opened and a young woman with blonde hair came in carrying a small bundle into the room. The young woman never looked up to acknowledge Sarah's presence. She was acting oddly as she kept on whispering to the bundle in her arms.

"Hello" Sarah said awkwardly as the woman began to walk closer to her. She braced herself for the collision she knew was about to occur as the woman walked straight to her. Sarah felt like she was buried in ice – like all the air had been sucked from her lungs.

She turned quickly to see the young woman continue walking to a rocking chair in the corner of the room.

"That hadn't been in the room before," Sarah thought as she looked around the rest of the room. Bookshelves filled with toys lined one of the walls, a portrait of a shepherd sleeping under a tree with his sheep hung on the wall opposite the bookshelves, and an ornate crib stood near the rocker.

Sarah's attention was brought back by a shrill cry from the bundle in the young woman's arms. Sarah walked closer to the woman in the rocker.

"Now, Severus, none of that," the woman said sweetly, but the baby kept crying.

The woman stood from the rocker and began to circle the room singing sweetly to the baby.

"Goodnight, my angel  
Time to close your eyes  
And save these questions for another day  
I think I know what you've been asking me  
I think you know what I've been trying to say  
I promised I would never leave you  
And you should always know  
Wherever you may go  
No matter where you are  
I never will be far away."

Sarah stood listening to the woman's lullaby as she tucked her son into the crib.

"Goodnight, my angel  
Now it's time to dream  
And dream how wonderful your life will be  
Someday your child may cry  
And if you sing this lullaby  
Then in your heart  
There will always be a part of me."

Sarah walked to the crib and peered inside. A baby with shiny black hair and bright black eyes stared at the mobile of wizards and witches on broomsticks racing after a golden ball above the crib. His eyes grew tired and finally fluttered shut. The woman smiled lovingly at him and leaned over to kiss his forehead.

The woman's voice sounded far away even though Sarah stood next to her. The crib and everything else that hadn't been there before began to fade as the woman left the room – still singing softly:

"Someday we'll all be gone  
But lullabies go on and on  
They never die  
That's how you  
And I will be."

Sarah closed her eyes as everything began to swirl around her again. When Sarah opened her eyes, she found herself staring into a pair of familiar black eyes. These eyes were no longer bright and filled with innocence, but were dark and hollow. Sarah reached a hand out to touch the face that belonged to those eyes to prove to herself that he was another image of her mind. Before she reached his face, he pulled her wrist in a vise grip above her head.

"What do you think you're doing here?" he hissed.

Sarah knew that voice instantly.

"You have to leave and get as far away as possible. Just keep running."

"I-I was jus-"

"You!" he hissed as he realized who she was.

"I'm sorry, I-I didn't know," she said, fear evident in her voice.

"Come with me," he ordered before sweeping out of the room and into the hallway.

* * *

The song sang to Severus is 'Lullaby' by Billy Joel.

I hope everyone enjoys this chapter  
I'm a 'Review Whore', please help feed my addiction and review.

L. Jones


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